The development and validation of an electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) image cue stimulus set

Responsiveness to drug-related cues assesses drug reward in research studies. There are currently no validated visual image cues related to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), thus, this study aimed to develop and validate affective ENDS image cues.

ENDS users and non-vaping individuals in the United States and Canada were recruited via Amazon MTurk. A total of 120 ENDS-related images and 56 neutral images, matched for visual similarity, were assessed. These images were either selected from public databases or were photographed by study staff. Closely adhering to the International Affective Picture System procedure, each participant rated 66 images one-by-one on dimensions of valence, arousal, dominance, and desire-to-vape where higher scores indicated greater feelings of happiness, excitement, loss of control, and desire to vape.

After excluding patterned responses, the data from 926 participants (610 ENDS users, and 316 non-vaping controls) were analyzed. When viewing ENDS-related images, desire-to-vape scores were correlated with valence (r = 0.55, p < 0.0005), arousal (r = 0.72, p < 0.0005), and dominance (r = 0.58, p < 0.0005) scores. Images that elicited greater desires to vape also elicited greater feelings of happiness and excitement, but less perceived control. Correlations between arousal and valence (r = 0.42, p < 0.0005) and dominance (r = 0.71, p < 0.0005) suggest that images that increased feelings of excitement also increased happiness and decreased perceived control.

Correlational findings of the affective ENDS-related images were similar to those of previous studies validating collections of tobacco and alcohol picture cues, supporting the future use of these stimuli in ENDS research.